Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm pretty experienced with red eared sliders and I'm at a loss of what to do-
My friend bought me a new baby (my other is four)from arts of nature (which i know isn't the best place) and when it got here it was extremely tiny- never seen one sold that small. it's shell was soft too but it did eat fairly well. We named him "Squirt" haha. Well I went on Spring Break and I was told it was eating well and everything but when I came back it's shell seemed even softer if that's even possible. I feel like I could easily squish the little guy. He won't eat, he'll hardly move, he will stay in the same spot all day if I don't move him. Half the time I don't know if it's alive! But after a while it'll move a little. I try everything to try and stimulate him but nothing works. I have a uv light on it, a water heater, and calcium vitamins. I go to school in a real small town and I have called every vet around and none of them handle small turtles. Is there anything else I can do?
oh- and he hasn't eaten in over a week. I sit there for soooo long with it and nothin I do helps it. Any advice?
Thanks,
Mandy

Hi! I had the same experience with AON. I received two baby turtles that were adopted from them, one of which has passed on, and the other that for 2 1/2 months has been acting the same way you are describing yours. The turtle's name is Willie, and she is very lethargic, although she will swim around for a little bit during the day. Since I received the turtles in January, I have yet to see them eat, and have tried everything. I don't know what to do. How did you get your little guy to eat in the beginning? I have mealworms, raw meat, tuna, turtle food of various kinds, as well as mashing up turtle food into a paste to get the little guy to eat. I haven't had any luck. If you find anything out, will you please let me know? I hope that Squirt (which happens to be the name of one of my other turtles, who happens to be huge now...no longer the little "squirt" that he used to be) gets better! Also, did you try and contact AON with any luck? I tried various times and never heard back. I am so upset about everything. Good luck and let me know how things go with your little guy.

Meredith

Hi Mandy,

You did not mention a heat lamp. Do you have a heat lamp on a basking spot completely out of the water? And at what temp are you keeping the water? If he is little and not doing well I would keep the water quite warm, around 80-82 and keep the basking spot in the 90's. The warmer temperatures will help it fight any infection if it has one and may also stimulate appetite. Good luck!

thanks for the responses back. Yes, I have a heat light as well.
Basically I just have no clue now. It doesn't stay awake for long enough to even try to feed it. Any other ideas?
I fell like realistically this is a lost cause- but don't worry I wont stop trying!

Also,
I know Arts of Nature doesn't have the best reputation. Just for curiousity sake- what is a safe place to get baby RES?

I don't want to discourage you from holding out hope for your little guy, but sometimes they just don't make it. If yours doesn't, I would spend some time investigating other types of turtles. Lots of us end up with RES because they are SOOOO available without knowing anything about them, like that they could get to be the size of a dinner plate and require a monstrous financial investment. There are lots of other aquatic turtles that stay much smaller. It would be kind of you investigate the adoption services (real adoption, turtles that need homes), you can also search the turtle classifieds here or at www.turtleforum.com (lots of RES hatchlings available) If something happened to my adorable RES I would consider a mud turtle, a musk turtle, or a map turtle. Check them out.

In the meantime, keep your little guy warm and keep offering food. You never know, sometimes they surprise you.

thank you so much for the nice response. i really appreciate it!

Try www.petfinder.org and www.anapsid.org to see if there's a rescue in your area. Sometimes rescues have hatchlings, sometimes they don't. Herp societies are also good places to find hobby breeders, and anapsid.org has listings of herp societies as well.

Please consider contacting the Better Business Bureau to lodge a complaint, and let others know about your experience at turtleforum.com

Katrina

Can you put him in outside in natural sun light at all, even if just for ten minutes a day?

Katrina